"Tell me, are you hiding something from me?"

"Fourth Brother, do you think the throne is really that good? Why do so many people want it? Even if they can't get it, they still want the person they like to have it."

The two walked into a pavilion in the Imperial Garden. Hongzhou casually sat on the steps, and Hongli sat down next to him.

"Throughout history, those who strive for fame and fortune to sit in that position are mostly doing so to gain the greatest benefit for themselves, believing that once they sit in that position, they can have whatever they want."

“Those people are blinded by greed and can’t see the responsibilities and struggles that come with that position. To be honest, I have no interest in it. Unlike my third brother, who would fight for it even if it meant death.”

"Oh? Tell me, why?"

Hongzhou recounted how he had been injured and recuperating at his mother's place.

Back then, my mother was just a princess.

“As far back as I can remember, my mother was always smiling. Even when I got into trouble, she let my father deal with me without ever pleading or blaming me. But that time, because I stood up for you and got into a fight with Hongwang, my mother was extremely angry. The seriousness on her face was something I had never seen before.”

Hongli nodded. In his memory, Consort Geng rarely lost her temper.

"She said that royals are born without freedom, but she secretly hoped that I would be free and could do what I wanted. But the prerequisite for enjoying freedom is that I help my father and my fourth brother and take on responsibilities."

Hongli patted Hongzhou on the shoulder and said:

"As members of the royal family, none of us can escape these things."

Hongzhou smiled:

"Fourth brother, thank you for listening to what your younger brother has to say."

“You may seem carefree and unrestrained, but you actually harbor many secrets. I know you don’t want Empress Geng to worry. However, everything should be done in moderation.”

Hongzhou nodded without speaking. Hongli felt that this matter was not over.

The first month of the seventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign was a time for the imperial family and the people to celebrate together.

However, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Geng Youran, who was always in good health, actually managed to do it.

"Aunt Qianxue, what happened? Mother was perfectly fine just a few days ago!"

"Your Highness, Her Majesty was perfectly fine this morning. She even asked me to prepare a lot of things, saying she wanted to make some fresh food for you and the Emperor. When I returned after making tea, Her Majesty was lying on the ground."

Hongzhou stared coldly at the imperial physicians inside who were taking his mother's pulse one by one, feeling uneasy.

It wasn't until half an hour later that the imperial physicians finally came out to report to Hongzhou and the others.

"Your Highness Consort Xi, and Your Highnesses, Consort Yu has been poisoned."

"Poisoning? How could that be?"

"Your Highness, Consort Yu has indeed been poisoned. And it has been quite some time."

Is there any treatment available?

"this……"

"Treat him for me, or you will all be buried with him!"

When Yinzhen heard that Geng Youran had fainted in Chengqian Palace, he rushed over and happened to hear the imperial physicians stammering.

"Your Majesty, although we are certain that Her Highness has been poisoned, we cannot identify the poison in the short term. Please allow us to discuss this further."

"If you cannot produce an antidote within a day, I will not let you off easily."

"As you command."

The imperial physicians stood up tremblingly and went back to the Imperial Hospital to prepare the medicine.

"Consort Xi, what brings you here?"

"Your Majesty, after Qianxue discovered that Sister Geng had fainted, she immediately sent someone to inform me. Just then, the two children came to the palace to pay their respects, so we came together."

"Qianxue, tell me, has your master been acting strangely lately?"

"Your Majesty, I have been thinking that Your Highness may have indeed been poisoned before. Recently, Your Highness has had a poor appetite, eating less and less, and always feels weak all over, and occasionally has headaches. I suggested that you ask the imperial physician to come and take a look, but Your Highness only said that it was because you were not sleeping well, so you did not ask me to call the imperial physician."

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

Qianxue immediately knelt down:

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager forbade me to speak, saying that she was afraid Your Majesty and the Prince would worry if they knew."

Yinzhen frowned; this matter must be thoroughly investigated.

"Gao Wuyong".

"Your servant is here."

"I'm leaving this matter to you. You have five days. If you can't find out the truth, I will hold you accountable."

"Your servant obeys the decree."

In order to complete the task assigned to him by the emperor, Gao Wuyong even borrowed Wei Zhu from Hong Zhou.

"Greetings to Eunuch Wei."

"No, no, I wouldn't dare."

That's why they say the emperor doesn't keep useless people around him. Gao Wuyong is always shrewd. He knows that Wei Zhu has been by the late emperor's side for many years and has seen a lot of things, so he specially invited him to come and help.

"Eunuch Wei, please help me with this matter."

"Don't worry, Eunuch Gao. This Consort Yu is Prince Hongzhou's mother. I will do my best to help her."

Sure enough, after hearing Qianxue describe some of Consort Yu's symptoms, and with the imperial physician's diagnosis, Wei Zhu quickly realized what was going on.

"Qianxue, has Consort Yu changed her makeup powder recently?"

Qianxue was taken aback:

"How did Eunuch Wei know? A while ago, Consort Su moved in and presented several boxes of face powder when she came to pay her respects to the Empress. She said it was the most fashionable color in Jiangnan, and the Empress liked it, so she changed it."

"Bring it here for me to see."

Qianxue hurried to the dressing table, took out the makeup powder, and handed it to Weizhu. Weizhu took it, opened it, and smelled it. There was no obvious smell, and the color was more delicate than that of ordinary makeup powder.

Then he asked Qianxue to bring out the makeup powder she had used earlier.

"Look, the powder Her Majesty originally used wasn't as fine and had a faint rice scent, but this one has no scent at all. It's obvious that something was added to it."

"Eunuch Wei, please don't tell Prince Hongzhou about this yet. I'll go tell the imperial physician and the emperor."

After that, the imperial physician prescribed an antidote for Geng Youran based on her symptoms and the poison. On the same day the diagnosis was made, Consort Su hanged herself.

"Hmph, she got off too easy."

Hongzhou gritted his teeth, wishing he could tear this woman to pieces.

Yinzhen sat on the throne, closed his eyes and thought for a while. Then he ordered Gao Wuyong to convey the decree to have all the maids in Chengqian Palace who had come into contact with Su Yingying's box of face powder beaten to death. In addition, he bestowed eight new palace maids to serve Geng Youran.

This handling of the matter shocked everyone in the harem and also made some people much more obedient.

Of course, there were also jealous people.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

The one calling out "Your Majesty" is Bai Hua, the head palace maid beside Consort Ning.

Ever since the Empress learned that some of the maids in Consort Yu's palace had been beaten to death, she has been in a daze.

"Your Majesty?"

"ah!"

"Your Highness, don't be afraid, it's your servant."